I Live, I Learn, I Am
by Edgehog Jeremy
Summary: Project Shadow was created 60 years ago, but what if that wasn't all that was created? Dr. Eggman stumbles upon something that could change everything we know about Shadow and his origins. A battle will commence to determine not only the fate of the world, but also for Shadow's legacy. (Takes place 10 years after Shadow the Hedgehog)
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Hey guys so I know that I haven't really been updating my fanfic "All Within My Hands" all that much because school and work have really crunched down the amount of free time that I do have but now that things are dying down I think that I have time to continue that story as well as present another one to you. This one just came to me as a "What if?" question and it just blossomed from there. I hope you all enjoy this fanfic and let me know what you think. Comments and reviews would be much appreciated. Here we go!

Part 1:

Am I… A.I.?

Prologue:

The Catalyst

They tend to take what they have for granted, and what they do have is never enough. Searching endlessly for ways they can harness a greater power for their own selfish needs and desires is always on their agendas. Whether it be good or for evil, the impulse to be someone who wields immense strength and limitless power is there. I have witnessed firsthand, the carnage that these humans will cause to get their way. The cold hearted murders of those that have done no wrong doing, the desecration of precious research, and the voices that cried for them to stop fell upon deaf ears .I'm not the only victim, planet Earth has seen it for itself, with humans evolving into heartless creatures with the intent to create and desecrate the very place it inhabits and thrives. They have brought death, famine, and destruction to the planet they claim to love, they don't let anyone get in their way in their conquest for power. They are stubborn at the fact that they are not invincible. They think that they are the strongest lifeforms ever to be created. How wrong they are. It is this fatal flaw that will be the catalyst for their demise. Their extinction will be inevitable and there will be no on that they can depend on. The humans will get so caught up in their own selfish ways that they won't see their downfall until it is too late. Blindsided by this knowledge, they will fall and the Earth shall be plunged into an eternal darkness, and the future of mankind will no longer exist. No more false idols, no more selfish heroes, and no more fake deities. I have been waiting over half a century for my chance to take a shot at revenge at those pathetic humans, but the time isn't right yet. When it is the optimal time to strike, I will take my chance and I will show the humans how it feels to have everything ripped away from them. This will be the last time they carry out violence to fulfill their selfish agendas. I will soon enslave them and Earth will bow down to one and only one ruler, and that will be me.


	2. Chapter 1: Building a Legacy

Chapter 1:

Building a Legacy

"Hold it right there Professor Gerald!" The GUN General barked, aiming his weapon at the elderly man that stood before him. The professor trembled at the sight of so many GUN soldiers in front of him, all of them acting so hostile and he didn't have the faintest clue as to what was going on. The world seemed to be crashing in around him as more GUN soldiers ran into the room, their weapons raised. The professor put his hands above his head very slowly, he didn't want any violence to break out. He just wanted to resolve things peacefully, he wanted to just know what in the world was going on.

"Will someone please explain to me what is going on?" The professor cried as GUN soldiers grabbed him by his arms to restrain him. He felt himself being pulled away from his laboratory, he squirmed as he tried to make his way back towards the countless machines that held his precious research, but it was to no avail. One of the GUN soldiers turned to face Gerald and the rest continued to have weapons aimed at him, threatening him to not make a move.

"We have been ordered by GUN command to stop all progress on Project Shadow, you're work is no longer needed as you have done enough for us." The GUN General turned away as he made his way to Gerald's computer. Gerald continued to squirm and tried to pry the soldiers off of him as he tried to make sense of why the project he had been working on for so long was coming to a sudden end.

"The project is still in progress! It's not complete! You can't do this!" Gerald cried out as the GUN general began to access the files, however a screen popped up, delaying him from getting any information.

"Voice recognition required." A monotonous robotic voice replied.

"You better talk Professor." The General demanded Gerald, he decided that he should just comply since they still had more defenses to get through before accessing his research.

"Professor Robotnik." Gerald replied to the computer, who after a moment of brief silence responded.

"Voice recognized, thank you Professor." Just after that another screen popped up, this time it required a password.

"A password?!" The General yelled in frustration, he slammed his fist down on the desk in anger. The Professor was smirking inside at the General's childish antics. He was like a toddler throwing a temper tantrum.

"What are you waiting for? Bring him over here this instant!" He barked as the men who had been restraining Gerald led him towards the computer. They held him there as Gerald just stared at the screen blankly. "Well what is the password Professor?" The General asked impatiently as Gerald suddenly felt as though he were breathing through a straw. His heart rate quickened and he could hear it thundering inside his chest. He knew that he had only moments before they accessed his files. His precious research that he had conducted for years on this project. He had overcome many failures with the biolizard and had enlisted the help of Black Doom to provide his blood to stabilize Project Shadow using the powers of chaos control.

However, Gerald had made a choice that day. He knew that Black Doom wanted to harness the Chaos Emeralds to destroy Earth when the time presented itself, but unknowingly Black Doom had ironically created the one thing that would defend the planet from his tyranny and evil. Gerald had made the decision to made Shadow a defense unit, he would be programmed to defend Earth if evil should ever try to conquer or destroy it. While he may have been created to heal the disease that was running rampant inside his granddaughter Maria, he knew that Project Shadow could also serve another purpose, and that was to protect those who needed it most. He not only created Project Shadow for healing and protecting the world, he knew that Shadow could serve many purposes and thus he decided to extend his project further. He had taken Shadow's memories and development data and had been hoping to develop a greater intelligence of sorts. He was hoping to create copies of Shadow's to help with research and to serve as protectors who would watch over the world. He began inserting this data into a separate data space. What he stumbled upon was an A.I. that could not only be replicated, but it could also evolve and learn. It was remarkable, it could inhabit many different android bodies of Shadow and it could go on to learn, develop memories, and evolve as a living being. He was watching this consciousness everyday grow and Gerald was about to create an army of Shadows before GUN showed up. He couldn't let them have this research. They would create an army of mass destruction that would only be programmed for the downfall of humanity. Gerald reflected back on that day when he made the choice to betray Black Doom and break the deal that they had for Project Shadow's creation. He felt the same way he did now, he was nervous, unsure, and scared beyond comprehension at the circumstances he had managed to find himself in.

In the end, he felt as though he had made the right choice that day in reprogramming Shadow and once his mind was made up, he never turned back on it. He knew it was time to make that same kind of monumental decision now, he either had to do the rational thing which was to give the GUN soldiers what they wanted, which was his research, for God knows what purpose or he could listen to his heart. His heart was telling him to not give them what they want, they don't deserve to have something like Project Shadow, something that has all the potential to be something that could protect mankind forever. He wouldn't let them have Project Shadow or its research. He was taking a stand, and this was his moment to stand up for himself and not back down.

"I don't remember putting a password on here." Gerald lied, trying to keep his cool as his anger brewed at the GUN soldiers.

"Bullshit!" The General yelled, mad with fury. "You know what it is so spill it Professor!" Clearly his lie hadn't worked, but then again the Professor expected that to be the case. He knew that the soldiers weren't that dumb, but he knew that he could do something else. The Professor just stared at the screen in silence, the light of the monitor reflected on his glasses as the password screen continued to light up, almost begging him to type it in and spill all of it's secrets. The GUN soldiers all fidgeted nervously, unsure why the Professor wouldn't move or say anything, he just kept staring. In the midst of this silence though, the General's blood was boiling that he wasn't getting his answers. He needed them now, no matter what the cost. In the blink of an eye the General had grabbed his Desert Eagle from his holster and placed it against the Professor's right temple. The cold steel pressed against the side of his head caused the Professor to sweat nervously and the General could feel Gerald trembling as he grabbed the Professor's shoulder and shoved him down in the seat in front of the computer.

"Give us the password...now!" The General growled through gritted teeth, each word was laced with venom and the Professor knew that he shouldn't be resisting them, but he knew that it was the right thing to do. He felt the weapon against his temple being pressed even harder against his flesh. The cold of the steel was making him uncomfortable and he knew that he had to think fast on what his next move would be. He realized that he wasn't going to make it out of this situation alive, his death was inevitable, but he could still preserve his research and keep it away from those who wish to use it for evil intentions. He knew it was no use to resist them, he had to give in. His granddaughter needed him and he didn't want to leave her behind, he wouldn't let the GUN soldiers get to her.

"The password is Z-Omega33412." The Professor spilled as the General glared down at him. He scoffed as the Professor remained in his seat frozen, staring at the screen. He had done it, was it the right choice?

"See? It wasn't that difficult was it professor?" The General questioned as he pulled the weapon away from the Professor's head. The Professor sighed in relief, he felt as though the weight of the world had been lifted from him, he could relax now. The General quickly turned and pulled the trigger. A loud shot rang out as the Professor suddenly dropped to the floor, blood oozing out of his skull, decorating his lab coat in a dark crimson. The men winced at the morbid display of the Professor that now lay lifelessly on the floor and the blood that now adorned the computer monitor still dripped like rain slowly down a window. The General placed his gun back in it's holster, the job had been done, it was time for GUN to take what they came here for.

"John, get up here and access the ARK's computer system program now." The General ordered as a GUN soldier quickly ran up and began typing the password.

"Access denied." The monotonous voice replied.

"What do you mean access denied?" The General questioned as John once more typed in the password.

"Access denied." It responded once again, same as before.

"Are you sure that you are typing it correctly?" The General asked, making sure John, his computer and technologies specialist didn't mess this up.

"Yes I am, you can even try it for yourself." John got up and the General had now placed himself in the seat. He began typing out the password pronouncing it with every key he pressed.

"Z-Omega33412."

"Access denied."

"GOD DAMN IT!" The General howled in rage as he slammed his fists down on the desk. He couldn't believe it, he had been so stupid, he hadn't realized the one thing that could have possibly gone wrong. He hadn't taken into account that the Professor may have given him the wrong password on purpose. He had been so foolish to think that he could have so easily obtained the password to Professor Gerald's research. Now whatever knowledge of the password and his works died with him, and now there was no way to recover and obtain what they needed. His men just watched him in silence, not wanting to get involved while the General took out his aggression at a mission that looked as though he had failed at. He hunched over the desk, silently seething as he glanced over his shoulder. His dark green eyes pierced through every single one of his men like an artillery shell and shaked them all to their very core. They could see nothing but pure, concentrated rage in those eyes and they knew that he was a force to be reckoned with. The air grew thick with a frustrated tension as his eyes rested on his men solely for a couple moments before glancing back down at the desk.  
"Please tell me John that you can hack into these computer systems." The General begged, a bitter tone in his voice. He had himself to blame for putting himself into this mess, now he had to find a way to correct his errors.

"The ARK's computer mainframe is something I've never seen before, it's too complicated and it won't allow me to access anything no matter what I do. I'm sorry General but there is nothing we can do. Whatever research was conducted has died with the Professor." John sighed in defeat, hating himself for having let the General as well as his men down. The General hung his head low and clenched his fists in anger, he had a mission to complete and he had failed. The objective was to obtain the information of Project Shadow and a mission that was simple enough on paper was ruined in a matter of seconds all because of his mistake. Then he remembered something crucial. Gerald wasn't the only one on board the Space Colony ARK. His granddaughter and Project Shadow were still on board, they could just capture Project Shadow and bring him back to the GUN base. They could study him there and just replicate Gerald's research and obtain the information they needed. It was genius. The General grinned evilly, pleased at this realization and quickly turned to face his men.

"Men, the Professor's granddaughter as well as Project Shadow are still stationed on the ARK, our mission now is to capture them and bring them back to the GUN base. Move out!" After his orders, his men quickly ran out of the room and went to go and find their targets.

"Shadow, we need to get out of here!" Maria pleaded, she had heard the gunshot from the room below them and their peaceful moment of looking out at the world below them had been shattered. Shadow turned to face her, his back to the window that looked out at stars that adorned the sky, "What happened?" Shadow asked as he walked over to comfort Maria, she quickly embraced him and he could feel her tears falling onto his fur.

"I heard a gunshot below us, I think that they killed him Shadow." Shadow felt his heart break, he hadn't been paying attention to the world around him, he was just looking at the planet called Earth that was right beneath them. He wondered what the world would be like if he, Maria, and the Professor could leave this all behind. Now that moment seemed bittersweet as those hopes and dreams had now been crushed by Maria's words.

"Maria, it's not safe here then. Let's go." Shadow said, feeling his heart thud fast at the fact that whoever shot the Professor was probably coming after them now. He grabbed Maria's hand and ran out of the room, hoping to escape before anything happened to them. He wouldn't let them harm Maria, even if that meant risking his own life, the Professor would have wanted that. His shoes clanged against the metal floor as they ran down the hallway, fearful of what was trying to hunt them. They quickly reached the end of the hall and they entered one of the rooms, it was a wide open space with a view of the Earth beneath them and several pods placed in the center of the room.

"Hurry Shadow, get in!" Maria exclaimed as she headed towards the controls to activate the escape pod.

"Maria, I won't leave you behind!" Shadow insisted as he stood in front of the pod. "Come with me, we can both escape!"  
"Shadow, you go first. You're life is more important than mine." Maria replied, sadness in her voice.

"Maria, don't say that. You're just as important as me. I need you!" Shadow pleaded with her as she shook her head.

"If you die, my grandfather's research and legacy would have been for nothing. Do you want that to happen Shadow?" Maria asked, it was an outcome that Shadow didn't want to happen but at the same time he wanted to take her with him. He wanted her to be with him so that she could explore an unknown world with him. He didn't want to leave her behind, she would die, and he knew the Professor would want him to protect her at all costs. Shadow just shook his head and got into the escape pod. Just as Maria was about to hit the button, a squad of GUN soldiers entered.

"Get out of the pod!" One soldier barked, his weapon raised in Shadow's direction.

"Step away from the controls!" Another ordered at Maria, his gun was aimed right at her, and seeing her so defenseless made Shadow quiver in fury. Maria pressed the button and the launching sequence for Shadow's pod was engaged.

"I'm sorry Shadow!" Maria cried out, a shot rang out and Maria dropped to the ground in front of the controls, dead. The GUN soldier had shot her, and Shadow hadn't been able to protect her.

"NO!" Shadow screamed as he felt himself plummet to Earth, everything flied past him in a blur as he felt himself enter Earth's orbit and began to feel the heat around him intensify. He didn't care though, all he wanted was Maria and the Professor back. He wished that things could go back to normal, that he could just wake up from this twisted nightmare that he was trapped in. Unfortunately, this was his reality. He was forced to accept it, he knew that he had a mission left to accomplish still, and that was to protect the people of this planet. Shadow closed his eyes, reflecting back on all of his past memories with Maria and the Professor and the brief life they had given him, he smiled as the memories played before him like a movie. He was ready for what was to come. He braced himself for impact, as the pod reached the ground at frightening speeds he opened his eyes and watched as his pod slammed into the ground. A loud crunch was heard as the pod walls around him caved in and the metal twisted. The glass shattered and covered the ground as well as the cargo inside. Circuitry buzzed with electricity as the beeping of destroyed technology filled the air. Shadow began to crawl out of the pod, the cuts and scrapes he suffered as well as a collision with his head against the wall was causing his head to pulse with agony. He managed to crawl a few feet away before exerting all of his energy. He slowly looked back at the destroyed pod, then briefly looked around at the forest around him.

"I made it." He whispered before closing his eyes and succumbing to the darkness that now blanketed him.

A/N: So that does it for this chapter! I hope you all enjoy this exciting new story that I'm bringing to the table. I'll try and update this story every tuesday and my other fanfic "All Within My Hands" every thursday. With this schedule in place I hope that everyone is happy that these stories are going to be updated weekly as much as possible. Reviews and comments are much appreciated! Until next time...see ya guys around.


	3. Chapter 2: What Was Once Lost

A/N: Hey guys, I'm back again with another chapter! I couldn't help it, I just really enjoyed writing this story so I thought I would write some more. Well I don't really have much to say so here is the next part of the story!

Chapter 2:

What Was Once Lost

It had been a long and tedious ten years for Dr. Eggman, he hadn't concocted a good plan in world domination for a while now. He schemed and he plotted but no matter how hard he tried it seemed, his mind was blank for ideas. This was a new feeling for Dr. Eggman, a feeling of uncertainty that loomed over him like a foreboding shadow. His base that he called home even now felt empty, like it didn't serve a purpose anymore. It seemed that ever since the Black Arms had descended down from the skies and trashed Earth, Eggman didn't know which side of the fence to be on.

He had helped Shadow on his quest for answers and had utilized his army to combat the hordes of black aliens alongside Sonic and his friends as well. He remembered when they were up in the black comet, watching Black Doom as he gathered the chaos emeralds from Shadow. He had used Shadow as nothing more than a puppet to do his dirty work and in return Shadow expected answers, and just when it seemed Shadow was going to turn his back on the planet he had once protected, Shadow was betrayed. He was betrayed by someone he called his bloodline, Black Doom had held everyone captive, in a paralyzed state from a neurotoxin that he had released into the air. He was going to destroy the very planet that Shadow had unknowingly been created to protect. Fortunately, Shadow was able to break free from the toxin's hold and track down Black Doom for one last battle. Eggman thought back to how Shadow had saved the planet by defeating Black Doom and sacrificing himself to destroy the Black Comet using the ARK's ray cannon. Seeing Shadow's bravery and self sacrifice had made Eggman realize that anyone can be a hero. In times of great peril when his planet was threatened, he did team up with Sonic and his friends, but he would never give his life for them, and he was definitely no hero by any means of the word. He battled Sonic and his friends more often than not, some his plans were closer to succeeding to others but in the end, they all failed regardless.

In the decade that had passed, Eggman hadn't even taken advantage of the fact that Sonic and his friends were suffering. They were devastated to learn that Shadow hadn't made it out from his final confrontation with Black Doom. They mourned over the fact that someone who had once been seen as rival and enemy to many, had finally shined as a hero and friend in their eyes. Why Eggman didn't take advantage of this opportunity to take them down while they were absorbed in their gloom and misery is unknown, even to him. The fact still remains though, that he hadn't done anything significant in over a decade. Normally Eggman's defeats only fuel him to scheme harder and come up with more devious and diabolical ideas to execute, but now that the endless cycle of scheming, executing, defeat, repeat had finally come to a screeching halt, Eggman has found it impossible to rebound. Eggman had reached an insurmountable slump.

A cycle that was supposed to work day in and day out like clockwork had ceased and now he was finding it harder and harder to plot his ideas. He honestly thought about giving it all up, the world had forgotten about him in the decade that has passed. He was just a familiar face of evil that no one seemed to be afraid of anymore. Ever since Shadow had taken a final stand against Black Doom, the world has been living in fear of Black Doom's return. With every year that passes however, that notion fades more and more into obscurity just like Eggman's villainous efforts have.

People have moved on, and I guess I should do the same as well, I think it's time I throw in the towel, everything I have done has been fruitless and in vain. Eggman depressingly thought as he paced his private room, contemplating his retirement. He had done nothing more than accept consistent defeats and near victories, it seemed to Eggman that all signs were pointing in the direction for Eggman to pull the plug on his already dying career. Eggman stopped pacing and stared down at the ground, his eyes glaring holes in the floor below him, he couldn't just give in.

He could still have one last plan, one that can propel him to the zenith of success that had eluded him for so long, but what? What could it possibly be? That was the question that haunted and plagued the Doctor's mind as he continued to mull things inside his head. Thinking about quitting was enough to make his blood boil, add that in with not having a plan in action was just adding fuel to this already deadly concoction. In fact, this only motivated him to find a way to destroy those pesky rodents once and for all! They had stood together at one time to protect the planet, but they were only delaying the inevitable, Eggman finally conquering Earth and building the Eggman Empire. Eggman's thoughts of retirement completely abandoned his mind as he beamed at the thought of finally having that blue nuisance crushed beneath his feet after all these years. Eggman would make him pay for making an intellectual such as himself look like an absolute fool. He just needed the perfect plan, one that would do the job for good.

However, the problem that always arose found it's way to put a damper on Eggman's euphoria, the perfect plan that he so desperately searched for just seemed out of his grasp. He couldn't seem to think of a plan that he had already thought of or one that was foolproof to work against Sonic or his friends.

"There has to be something I can think of, Shadow has been dead for ten years, he can't interfere with my plans, but what can I do? I've done everything and more and I still can't crush that meddling hedgehog!" Eggman ranted at himself, he placed himself down in front of his main computer, hoping that the answers would come to him if he did some research. He cracked his knuckles and began to type, looking for some answers on where the chaos emeralds could be. With this knowledge he could create a weapon that would surely wipe away Sonic's existence, creating a foundation for the Eggman Empire to be built on. The thought pleased the Doctor as he smiled and looked over some data. The silence in the room comforted and set his mind at ease, he could focus solely on his work without having to hear the sound of clanging metal that his Eggbots made as they wandered around the base aimlessly. He continued to think back to the ARK, the place where Project Shadow had originated, the place where his grandfather had created the "ultimate lifeform". Eggman stopped analyzing his research on the whereabouts of the chaos emeralds for a moment, his mind dwelling on Project Shadow.

"Something just doesn't add up." Dr. Eggman said, thinking out loud at the sudden thought that occurred to him. It puzzled him that Shadow, someone who has withstood massive amounts of damage and pain would just die from an explosion. That combined with the fact that something that was as important as Shadow, whose original purpose was to be used as a cure for diseases that are considered incurable, wouldn't be replicated. Eggman had made Shadow androids that were supposed to be used as soldiers in his army, but due to them being unstable he put them in permanent stasis until he could figure out how to stabilize them. They remained dormant to this very day, but he never used them for scientific research or for scientific advancement purposes, they just stayed in his base, waiting to be used. His grandfather had tried to do something beneficial for his granddaughter Maria, but the end result was something else entirely. He had created a guardian of Earth, someone who would defend his home on his own terms and no one else's. However, this still begged the question to Eggman. Why would his Gerald invest all of his eggs into one basket? He could have created countless Shadows that would have been able to be benefit Earth and yes he was still in development but, why didn't he try to replicate his success? Intrigued by this idea, Eggman decided to scrap whatever plan he had originally been working on, and decided to start from scratch. Eggman was hell bent on figuring out the answers to these questions and there was only one place that he knew he could find them if they still existed, the ARK's archives.

"I will see to it that I finally succeed, no one will stop me." Eggman cackled as he meticulously began typing in strings of code onto the computer to access GUN's database. However, warning signals flashed across the screen, informing Eggman that he was not allowed to access confidential information and that this was a federal crime. Eggman just scoffed and continued to type, slowly but surely breaking down their defenses to the information that he so desperately sought.

"They think that their pathetic firewalls can keep a brilliant mind such as Dr. Eggman's from accessing what he wants? What imbeciles!" Eggman boomed as he finally broke down the last of the defenses that tried to keep him out, and entered the GUN's database. Within a couple of moments, tons of files began to appear and fill the screen in rapid perciscion. Classified information on all sorts of things sprawled out before him, he had done it, he was officially in.

Eggman's eyes scanned each and every detail of the files that filled his screen, seeking out any information on his grandfather's research. The chances of finding it were very remote, considering that any information on Project Shadow had died with his grandfather, but Eggman knew that something was bound to yield itself to him sooner or later. He would have to be very persistent in order to seek the information he needs. Files on weapons, secret missions, experiments, and military reports, were all that he found.

"None of this is what I was looking for," Eggman sighed, slightly frustrated that he wasn't getting his way. "I'll have to dig deeper, I'm only scratching the surface". Eggman once more began typing in more code, hacking further into GUN's database.

"I know you're in here somewhere." Eggman whispered to himself as he concentrated intensely on the computer screen in front of him. His eyes dissected away at every file, looking for any scrap of information that he could possibly muster that could lead to his grandfather's research. His fingers became a frightening blur as the Doctor began typing more code in. His grandfather's legacy wasn't going to be lost to the abyss of time, he was going to find it and he was going to finish it and build upon what he once started.

If only I could find the piece of the puzzle I need to connect the rest of this together, I could formulate a plan. Eggman thought as he continued his search. For several hours he searched, but it was to no avail. Not a single thing presented itself to him, deep down inside his heart Eggman knew that this was the predicted outcome. Gerald's research had died with him all those years ago and nothing it seemed was preserved. The only thing that Eggman even remotely had left of his grandfather was Shadow himself, but even he's gone. Eggman placed his face in between his hands and closed his tired and sore eyes. The fact that he had let the one last tie to his family slip away hurt Eggman at his core. He should have never have left Shadow alone that day in his base, if he hadn't, Rouge and Omega wouldn't have been able to take Shadow away from him. Eggman should have hidden him away further inside his base, where no one but himself would have had access. Eggman shouldn't have taken Shadow for granted, he was his last connection to his grandfather, and now that Shadow was dead, so was his grandfather's legacy. This was enough to bring Eggman to his tears, his very being shaken at this sudden realization. Tears teased to drop from the corners of his eyes as Eggman hunched over in his seat defeatedly.

"I can't even rekindle what Gerald Robotnik had started." Eggman spoke aloud shakily, his hands trembling slightly as he closed his eyes even tighter trying to hold back the tears. His plan had once again deteriorated before him, he was back at square one, the place it seemed that he was destined to stay at forever.

"Who am I kidding? It was a long shot anyways. What in the world was I even thinking?" He angrily questioned himself as he removed his hands away from his face, leaning back up into his seat. Eggman was stronger than doing nothing and shedding tears, sure life kicked him around and made him fall on his face, but that never stopped him. He was going to find answers, and he was going to find them now. Eggman opened his eyes, shaking his head to remove all the negative emotions away and once more began to put himself to work.

If I have to do this all day I will, Eggman thought as he continued to search through GUN's vast archives. Files appeared once more ranging on various things, but Eggman didn't care, he needed to find the files that held information on the ARK. Suddenly, he remembered something crucial.

"How could I have been so stupid?! I've finally figured it out!" Eggman cried out with glee as he remembered the Chaotix on the space colony ARK ten years ago They had accessed the ARK's files to recover the video log of Gerald's message to Shadow, they had done it with ease and were stupid enough to brag to everyone about it once they had all escaped from the comet and regrouped back on Earth. They used a specific data and code pattern that they entered into the computer, it accessed the matrix to uncover any password that would otherwise be under lock and key, Eggman thought with a smile, he finally had things worked out.

"That bumbling bumble bee was stupid enough to blurt out the code that they used, Vector and Espio had to shut him up but it was too late! I had memorized it all! Ha!" He laughed as he finally was able to navigate his way to the GUN database to the ARK's files.

"Yes, I've finally found it!" Eggman cheered as he began to access all files on the ARK, he found Gerald's video log and he found some journal entries on his granddaughter Maria and her disease's progress, but no files on Project Shadow. That's odd, Eggman thought, it should be here somewhere. The more and more Eggman began to dig though, the less he began to find. It was nothing but video logs and Gerald's monitoring of the Neuro-immune Deficiency Syndrome, but not even so much as a mention of the project that Gerald slaved himself to. Confused by this, Eggman had no idea what to do, he was at a loss of ideas. He had finally found what he was looking for, only to be presented with the bare minimum of information. Once again, things weren't adding up, every time Eggman would finally find a clue, it would always reach a dead end. The cogs inside Eggman's mind once more churned as he thought to himself what his next course of action could be. Before he could think for too long, he suddenly heard something intriguing come from his computer.

"New file recovered." The digitized voice spoke, Eggman was indeed surprised by this.  
"Huh?" He spoke as his eyes became glued to the screen, wondering what file could have possibly been recovered. The file opened before him and a password needed screen suddenly appeared in front of him.

"Password." The digitized voice spoke once more, Eggman gulped as he began typing in the code that Chaotix had used to access the video logs. I hope this works, Eggman thought desperately to himself, his heart was racing, this was it, the moment of truth. Digits, symbols, and letters all flashed across the screen as he anxiously awaited the result of his hard work. He was almost there, he could feel success just within his grasp, he needed this. Suddenly, the password completed itself and the screen stood still for a moment.

"Access granted." The computer informed Eggman as the password screen disappeared and an immensely large collection of files presented itself. Eggman's spirits lifted as he gazed at the files in front of him, there it was, his grandfather's research. It was all thought to have died with him sixty years ago on the ARK, but that had now been proven false. He was curious to what laid in these files, his grandfather's legacy was preserved in them and he would do everything in his power to recreate and better what Gerald had done. Eggman clicked on some of the files and immediately diagrams and all sorts of information presented itself on the screen. As Eggman began to read, sweat began to form on his brow and he felt himself began to pale. What he was reading, it couldn't be.  
"W-W-W-What?" Eggman stuttered as he began to read more and more of the information before him, he couldn't believe his eyes. This can't be real, Eggman thought incredulously as he stood up from his chair.

"This changes...everything." He stated as he turned his back on the computer, needing a moment to take in everything he just read. Shadow was just the beginning of something even greater, what lied in that research was the key to not only resurrection but also the creation of something that could be unmatched and unbroken. Eggman had finally found his plan, it was perfect and couldn't be thwarted.

"Hahahahaha! At last! I am back!" Eggman laughed evilly as he felt his confidence grow inside him, Project Shadow was only a prototype and with this new information that he now held within his hands, everything was about to change. The world, the fate of Sonic and his friends, and Shadow's were all about to be turned on their heads. Eggman walked away from the computer and down the corridor to enter the hangar that held what he had been working on for the past few years. I haven't just been sitting on my butt doing nothing, he will especially come in good use ever since the Sonic heroes decommissioned him, Eggman thought as he finally entered the hangar to turn back online the one thing machine that would help him find the Chaos Emeralds. After he sought those out, he would have to make a trip to GUN's headquarters, but that wouldn't be a problem, he would have help obtaining what he needed. Eggman laughed to himself, confident that nothing in his plan could go wrong. What was once lost had finally been found again.

"Gerald, Project Tyran is now officially underway."

A/N: That does it for this chapter! Hopefully it wasn't too much for you but I wanted to give insight on Eggman since he will be a driving force in this story. Don't worry I know a lot of this stuff was vague but it will all be revealed later on. Comments and reviews are much appreciated! Until next time...see ya later!


	4. Chapter 3: Dead to the World

A/N: Hey guys! Back at it again with yet another chapter. Sorry I haven't updated sooner, it's been busy but I hope this makes up for it. I also want to apologize if this story is slow, it will pick up but it needs to build the character's development since it has been a while and a lot can happen in ten years. It will gradually build up to more action and it will be worth the wait I can promise you that. Without further ado here we go!

Chapter 3:

Dead to the World

"It's time I put my past behind me." Shadow stated as he felt the waves of power from the chaos emeralds flow within him as he held the comet above his head.

"CHAOS CONTROL!" He yelled out as he suddenly teleported himself and the black comet from the middle of Westopolis to just outside Earth's atmosphere. He threw the comet towards the ARK which glowed a magnificent jade color as it prepared to fire the plasma energy at Earth. Shadow knew he had seconds to react so without further hesitation he teleported himself from behind the comet to inside the ARK itself. He watched the spectacle unfold before his eyes as the comet flew just in front of the ARK's laser cannon. Just in time, Shadow thought with a smirk as the comet exploded into many bits and pieces that scattered and floated all throughout space. I did it, I saved the ones who counted on me, Shadow thought triumphantly. He had done the one thing that no one had expected, in the planet's darkest hour, he was there for them. He had done something that has surpassed everyone's expectations, he was a hero, a savior, and most importantly, a protector. Shadow turned to walk away from the window but noticed something laying on the steel floor beneath his feet. Puzzled, Shadow reached down and picked it up, it was a photograph. He looked at it further and noticed it was of Gerald and Maria, the two who had a significant impact on him and his development. He cursed his amnesia for not remembering more of the good times that they probably shared together before it was all taken away. Shadow closed his eyes, he would stay strong for them, even if they weren't with him in this life anymore, their legacy would live on through him and he would do everything he could possibly do to fulfill his wishes. He cherished the look of joy frozen on Maria's face and Gerald's stoic expression made Shadow remember his words to him.

"It's up to you...Shadow."

"I know." Shadow said, acknowledging the professor's words that resonated inside his head, he knew what needed to be done, he needed to keep his promises and to quit dwelling on his past. He made a promise to never turn back on those he loved and recognized as allies and he intended to keep it, even if it meant making a sacrifice.

"Goodbye forever, Shadow the Hedgehog." Shadow said with a heavy heart as he let the photograph drop from his hand and slowly fall to the ground, however, it never hit the ground. The floor beneath him vanished, instead of the steel that was once there, a black void was there now. The photograph kept free falling into nothing and Shadow soon found himself suspended in the air as the ARK around him disappeared.

"What's happening!" The ebony hedgehog cried out in confusion, trying to make sense of everything that was going on. He closed his eyes, thinking that he was just hallucinating but when he reopened them he soon found himself amongst the stars.

"Huh?" He questioned as he looked about. He was outside of the ARK, floating in space alone.

"Fifty years ago….." A distorted and menacing voice emanated from somewhere in the darkness. Shadow felt a tingle go down his spine, he knew that voice, but how could he have survived?  
"Black Doom?" Shadow called out, turning around everywhere searching for the one he thought he had just rid the universe of, but to no avail. Then he heard something faint, it sounded like laughter. Shadow kept turning his head to detect where the noise was coming from but he still couldn't figure it out. Shadow tried to move back towards the ARK but he found that he couldn't move. It kept getting louder and strangely enough, more maniacal as the seconds went by. Shadow started to grow anxious as the noise kept coming closer, he didn't know what it was but he figured that this couldn't be good. Suddenly, it stopped. Shadow looked around again, it had fallen silent once more and Shadow had found that he could move, finally free of his invisible restraints. He turned to move but suddenly something stood in front of him.

"What the….?" Was all Shadow could say, he was dumbfounded at what was floating in space before him, it was another Shadow. It completely resembled him, and it was staring daggers into him, looking like it was ready to attack.

"Who are you?" Shadow asked, wondering just what this lookalike was doing in front of him. His question went unanswered as his mirror image kept staring at him, it was like it was waiting for something, like a command. Shadow's heart went into overdrive as he looked around him, searching in the darkness for the one whose voice he heard earlier.

"Black Doom, you coward! Reveal yourself!" Shadow screamed, his voice echoing out into the darkness of space, he suddenly got the feeling something was behind him. Shadow turned around in a panic, finding nothing there. Shadow turned back to face his mirror image to find that it was literally nose to nose with him, except, he had morphed. What had once looked like Shadow now resembled something else entirely. This Shadow now had half of his face peeled off, revealing black, glistening metal beneath the skin. The crimson eyes that it had were now flashing uncontrollably like strobe lights and the eye on the left half of his face was twitching. It's face was frozen in an unbelievably twisted and morbid grin as it's body began to grow in shape and size.

Shadow watched in horror as it grew uncontrollably and soon towered above him, the skin and fur on his body began to rip apart, revealing wires and circuitry beneath. The gloves shredded to reveal grizzly looking claws that were serrated and looked lethal. It cackled maniacally as it finished its transformation and looked down on Shadow like he were an insect. Shadow stared up at the behemoth, unsure of what to do, he wanted to get away but once more he found his movements to be restricted. This was the thing he had heard earlier laughing at him, but what did this mean? It reached down and picked Shadow up in it's hands, Shadow fought to resist it's grasp but found that he was no match. The monster lifted Shadow towards its face and stared at him with it's malfunctioning eyes. Shadow continued to struggle, but it was no use, he was trapped.

"Fifty years ago….you had one purpose...but now….you have another." That same distorted voice called out, Shadow knew that this was the end of the line. He was finished, but something about what Black Doom said didn't make sense. What purpose? As if he could read his mind, Black Doom called out once more.

"Look." Without hesitation, Shadow looked into the monster's eyes and soon found himself hypnotized by its hauntingly disturbing gaze. Images of many deaths and destruction flashed before his eyes at an alarming rate, he could feel the pain and suffering of many and he could hear them screaming out for help. Shadow grimaced as he watched many people die right before him, engulfed in flames, blown away by lasers, or simply mowed down by guns. They were helpless, and he just watched as they were all taken away by an endless army of what looked to be Shadow androids.

"This can't be." Shadow uttered as he continued to watch the horrific scenes play out before him. How can this happen? He is a vessel for good, nothing can change that, can it?

"Their blood is on your hands Shadow." That distorted voice stated in a dark tone. Shadow felt something warm trickle down along the fur on his face, once it made it's way down and landed on the monster's hand, he stared mortified. It was blood.

"This is who I am!" The monster cried out, replicating Shadow's voice.

"NO!" Shadow screamed, as the monster began to squeeze the life out of him, he felt all of the breath in his body leave instantaneously as he continued to be asphyxiated. Shadow tried his best to fight back but it was no use, he couldn't break free. His eyes slowly started to close as the life began to drain from him, blood continued to flow down his face as the last thing he saw was the monster looking down at him with a crazed expression on his face.

"DIE!"

Shadow woke with a start as he lurched forward off the metal cot beneath him. He panted for a moment, before finally catching his breath and wiping away the cold sweat.

"What…..was that?" Shadow asked himself as he lifted himself off the cot and stood up, ready to leave the room and his nightmares behind. He had experienced several nightmares before, but never any of this magnitude, what did it all mean? Shadow didn't really know the answer, nor did he really want to, he left the room behind, the automated doors closing behind him as he soon wandered the halls. It had been a decade since he vanquished the Black Arms, ever since then he has been in hiding up aboard the ARK, a place he once called home. In the time he had spent thousands of feet above here on this space station, it may have appeared that Shadow had moved on, but it was in fact the opposite, he had only dwelled on his past. After walking for awhile he reached the room he wanted and went inside. It was the room he had been in inside his nightmare, the room where he had once escaped from before landing on Earth all those years ago. Shadow approached the windows and looked out into the deep abyss of space, the stars adorning the sky. His gaze went from space down to Earth, the place he had once defended from the Black Arms. Shadow folded his arms as his crimson eyes continued to peer down Earth, completely submerged within his thoughts. He stared longingly, wanting so desperately to return and escape from the ARK. He had thought it was home, but it was its own special Hell. For the past ten years, he's wandered its rooms and corridors, seeking more answers but instead he could only find emptiness and inner turmoil.

He had gotten what he sought after, which was the answers that had been eluding him for so long, but it came with a price. Knowing who he was now and with his origins being told from both of the good and evil spectrums, Shadow had learned he was created for one purpose and one purpose alone. That was to defeat the Black Arms. Now that they had been defeated though, where did he go from here? He had served his purpose, so what else did he have to live for? These were the questions he thought of day in and day out here aboard the ARK, all he did was roam aimlessly, never finding answers, but he knew he couldn't do anything else. If he returned to Earth, he would be hunted down. Even though he might have been seen as a hero to many, he would still be recognized as a villain. The whole situation seemed hopeless to him, it seemed that he had nothing to live for anymore.

Nothing, that single word echoed through Shadow's mind and haunted Shadow at his being, causing him to shiver slightly. It scared him, knowing that he had nobody to live for and with and that he no longer had a purpose to fulfill like so many others. Maria and Gerald, his guardians, his teachers, his family, were taken away from him and while he may have grown somewhat attached to Sonic and his friends, he couldn't go back to Earth to see them again. They weren't the bond that he had with his family, they needed him to stay aboard the ARK and he wasn't going to let anyone desecrate the place where he and his family once thrived together in happiness. With all of this going through his mind, was he really protecting the ARK? It just seemed that he was going through the motions of life, being pulled through it against his will like the current of the sea.

Shadow turned his head slightly, looking away from the planet he once saved before. He couldn't bring himself to look anymore, too many thoughts and memories were coming back and he didn't want to dwell on them anymore. Yet, it seemed that no matter how hard he tried to block it all out and hide behind a curtain of a stoicness, he couldn't stay resilient against them. Thought and memories managed to break through his barriers and flood his mind every time. Images of Rouge and Omega coming together as a team for the first time in an effort to find Eggman filled his mind. They had formed the unlikeliest of friendships, but nonetheless they were able to cooperate and work together as a team in order to accomplish their goal, which ultimately helped save the world. He remembered fighting one on one and alongside Sonic in addition to his friends, as much as he didn't want to admit it, he did miss them greatly. He might not have gotten a chance to get to know them, well actually more like he didn't give them a chance to know him, but at the same time, they reminded him that he was never alone. That alone brought a faint smile to Shadow's face as he continued to look down at Earth, wondering what they were up to. They gave him a sense of belonging, but that was then, now things were different. He had made a promise that he would carry on Gerald and Maria's legacy, and that is how things are going to stay.

"This is pathetic! Why am I so weak?!" Shadow scolded himself coldly, as he pounded his hands on the glass windows.

"Why can't I forget them?! This is where I belong!" Shadow's yells filled the room and resonated throughout the ARK's empty corridors like a cavern. After a moment, the room once more fell into a dead silence as Shadow rested his hands flat along the glass, feeling the cold pierce through his gloves and send shivers along his arms. Shadow ignored it as his thoughts continued to torment him.

"I'm dead to the world. Why can't they be dead to me?" Shadow questioned as his eyes stared out at the stars that shined brightly in the black space outside.

"Why can't they be dead to me?" Shadow asked once more, now in a whisper. Shadow wanted to forget and be forgotten now that his time had passed, but he was finding it harder and harder to do so with every day that went by. Shadow turned from the window and walked out of the room, his hover shoes clanking against the metal floor.

He slowly walked down the corridor, memories once more invading the forefront of his mind.

"Maria!" His mind screamed as he heard the gunshot ring inside his head, the scene of that beautiful blonde girl in the blue dress from sixty years ago being shot down before he escaped being revisited. He remembered the horrified expression on her face as the crimson flowed down from her chest like a mighty river, her lifeless body dropping to the ground. He could even still now to this day see her ocean blue eyes gazing up at him longingly, begging him to save her before the pod dropped him down towards the Earth below.

"I'm sorry." Shadow apologized as the scene fleeted from his mind, leaving him once more alone in the present. Shadow came to the stop in the middle of the corridor, his fingers lightly touching his temple. His head slightly ached from the thoughts that continued to beat down his mind and wear him down on a daily basis. He wanted to lie down, but he didn't dare fall asleep again, not when the nightmares kept getting worse and worse. He wanted to leave the ARK behind and start somewhere new, but that just wasn't possible. He couldn't escape the pain and suffering that he had been exposed to throughout his whole life. It was a burden that he was going to have deal with for the rest of his life, no matter where he is.

His heart is begging him to leave, but his mind is begging him to stay, he was torn on what to do. He couldn't take the daily struggle of living with the ghosts from his past anymore. As much as he cherished them and wanted to know more about them, it was taking a toll on him both mentally and physically. He needed to break free from his mental restraints that were keeping him here and escape. The ebony hedgehog couldn't decide whether enough was enough or not. He may be dead to the world, but he still had the strength to show that he was alive. Shadow headed towards one of the empty rooms and sat himself down on one of the beds to continue his pondering.

It will be done, Shadow thought firmly, his mind being made up. Tomorrow, I reach a decision. I'll either be a prisoner, or I'll be free.

A/N: Sorry if this chapter may have been a little confusing but I was trying to showcase Shadow's struggles in the ten years that have past since he saved the world. I hope I did a good job of that. The dream sequence was the hardest to write, but I promise that it is more important than you might think. Well, I've gotta go but expect the next chapter, In Pursuit next week! Until then comments and reviews are greatly appreciated and thanks to all my readers who are keeping up to date and have liked my story thus far. I really do appreciate it!


	5. Chapter 4: In the Hands of Nihility

A/N: Hey guys! I'm back at it with another chapter and what a chapter this is. I've been slammed with homework and studying for finals and on top of that I had to rewrite the rough draft for this chapter five times! FIVE TIMES! I was honestly kind of lost on where to go with this chapter and I know that this story may seem kind of convoluted with all the different point of views but I promise that they will be interwoven and will come together at some point. Well I hope you all enjoy this one and let me know what you think with some reviews or if you don't want to leave one just keep reading to find out what happens next! Here we go!

Chapter 4:

In the Hands of Nihility

The sky resembled a void of darkness as it continued to pour down rain like water from a waterfall. The metallic colored clouds loomed overhead covering bits and pieces of the blackened skyscape, the weather had been cold all day and the rain wasn't helping at all by adding a chill to the air that caused Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Rouge, and Amy to shiver. Raindrops pattered off of their umbrellas as they stood on the damp grass in front of a concrete slab in the Westopolis cemetery a couple miles away from the city. The only sound that could be heard was that of the raindrops and the deafening silence of the world around them. No one dared to say a word, standing here in complete silence meant everything to Sonic, who hadn't said a thing since their arrival. His emerald green eyes never left the concrete slab that rested in the ground before him. He had read it so many times but he still couldn't believe or accept the fact that he was actually gone.

"Here lies Shadow the Hedgehog, a foe, a rival, but most importantly, a hero." Those were the words that Sonic wanted carved onto Shadow's tombstone when they all finally realized several months after the Black Arms invasion that he wasn't coming back. It was a time ten years ago to the day that they had looked up to the sky in amazement at the ebony hedgehog who finally realized that the world was worth saving after all. Against all odds, he turned against his maker and saved humanity from the Black Arms. It was something that Sonic looked up to, and now that was gone.

It's always the heroes that go first, Sonic thought to himself sadly as he recalled the giant explosion that had taken Shadow's life. The ARK's cannon had fired, it was either going to ensure our extinction or it was going to rid the universe of those disgusting creatures and their leader Black Doom. Thankfully, we had him, and if only he were still alive we could properly thank him. Tears threatened to fall from Sonic's eyes as Tails put a hand on his shoulder to comfort him. This was a completely alien feeling to Tails, normally he would be the one who needed to be comforted and Sonic would be right there with him, every step of the way, ensuring that Tails would be back to his old self. Now it seemed that Sonic, the hero that he had always looked up to, needed saving from this personal devastation. He just didn't know what to say, he could only be there on the sidelines, watching to see how he does from afar.

I've never felt like this about anything, why him? Was it because he made the ultimate sacrifice that even I couldn't bring myself to do? Sonic pondered these questions that loomed inside his mind. Yes, Shadow did sacrifice himself to save them all from the Black Arms but something else didn't make sense. Shadow had the powers of the chaos emeralds, there is no way he should have died from an explosion, it would have taken a lot more to get rid of him. Sonic was shaken from his thoughts as Amy looked at him with a sweet and tender look in her eyes.

"Sonic, it's okay." Amy whispered, still respecting the silence that loomed around them as she embraced Sonic with a light hug. Her warmth was contagious and within moments the cold and damp air that had caused Sonic to shiver only moments before was now replaced with a cozy warmth. Tears slowly trailed down the blue hedgehog's face as he continued to think about Shadow and whether or not he was still alive. His body had never been found and no one had seen Shadow since that day he defeated the Black Arms. In the ten years that had passed, Shadow's death had not only affected them, it had also affected GUN and Eggman. GUN had been in reclusion ever since, their actions kept on the down low and only ever released occasionally on the news. Eggman hadn't been heard from or seen in ten years. No schemes, no bragging about having the "ultimate" plan, not even an attempt to gather the chaos emeralds. It seemed as though he too had vanished from the face of the Earth.

On top of all of that, Tails bought a house close to Westopolis so that he and Sonic could help in the recovery effort to save what was left of the city. It had been a wise decision, as Tails' technology had saved many lives and restored much of the city that had a time been nothing but rubble and dust. Sonic remembered rescuing so many people that day, and those that he wasn't able to. The bodies that he pulled out were broken, beaten, and scarred, it was a horrible sight to relive. The Black Arms had only been on Earth briefly, but in the short span of time they were there, they managed to wreak havoc. Sonic winced at the memories and looked away from the tombstone. He turned to face Amy, whose face was now buried into his chest, hiding away from the immense sorrow that blanketed her friends.

"Thank you." Sonic said softly, causing the pink hedgehog to blush lightly. Knuckles walked over and rested one hand on Sonic's shoulder.

"C'mon, let's get out of here. The weather is only going to get nastier." Knuckles suggested as the rest of the group nodded their heads in agreement but Sonic.

"No." Sonic said darkly, causing the echidna to give him a questioning look.

"What do you mean no? I'm gonna catch pneumonia at this point and everyone is freezing their butts off! I'm saying we should leave and come back another day when the sun is out."

"I said no!" Sonic yelled, causing everyone to stare at him in shock, his mood swing had everyone taken off guard, they knew this meant a lot to Sonic, but they've never seen him act like this.

"I know this is a very difficult time for you and it's a very tough time for all of us, but listen to him Sonic, he's right. It's not healthy to be out here and surrounded by all this sadness." Amy replied causing the blue hedgehog to turn sharply to face her, a scowl firmly placed on his face.

"Do you guys even remember what happened on this day?" Sonic questioned angrily as his eyes darted to each one of his friends. When no one answered Sonic turned his back to them and focused his attention back to the tombstone, the silence thick in the air again.

"He gave a sacrifice that only the bravest of heroes are willing to make, he sacrificed himself to save all of us. Ten years today, we lost a hero, and it is that fact that I never want to be forgotten." Sonic told his friends with a stoic expression on his face, he was trying his best to hold his emotions in but he knew they were going to escape him sooner or later.

"Sonic, we know this is important to you, we didn't forget what today is, how could we? What we're saying is that this isn't good for you, we just need to get away from this." Amy explained, hoping she could get through to Sonic who hung his head low in grief.

"Why do we need to get away? We need to remember." Sonic stated, his stubbornness irritating his friends because he wasn't listening to them.

"Why can't you understand that we are trying to help you?!" Rouge cried out angrily, hoping that a change in attitude would make Sonic see things their way. Everyone was silent, Sonic just continued to look down at the ground before finally closing his eyes. After a few moments of no one else knowing what to say, Sonic spoke in a hushed tone.

"Why don't you all go on without me? I still have some things I want to say." Sonic offered and no one knew what to say. They didn't want to disrespect Sonic's wishes, but at the same time, it wasn't good for him to be in this fragile state.

"Alright, we'll meet you back at the house." Tails quickly offered before anyone else could speak out against Sonic. Knuckles looked like he was about to erupt in a rage but he quickly suppressed his anger and within moments everyone had left, leaving Sonic kneeling before Shadow's grave. The rain dripped down from Sonic's umbrella, resembling the tears that wouldn't stop running down Sonic's face.

"Shadow, I know you're still alive. I don't know where you are, and I don't know why you won't show yourself. Regardless though, I'm going to find you, no matter what. I'm going to do my best to bring back the greatest hero to have ever been blessed to walk among us." Sonic wiped the tears from his eyes and got up off his knees. After brushing himself off he turned to take off, but turned to look back once more at the tombstone.

"I promise, you'll live life again." Sonic whispered, and with those words Sonic took off back towards the house. Sonic had a plan, and if he was able to convince his friends to help him, this plan of his might just be able to work.

Within seconds, Sonic arrived at the front of the house. He bolted up the stairs that led to the porch and sprinted inside towards the living room where Knuckles and Tails were standing.

"Whoa!" Tails cried out as the blue blur almost collided with him but at the last second swerved out of the way, coming to a halt.

"What's the big idea?!" Knuckles shouted angrily, wondering just what in the world Sonic was doing running around like an absolute madman. Amy and Rouge heard all the commotion and dashed out of the kitchen area.

"What's going on?" Amy questioned as she put her hands on her hips and glared at Sonic, who was now dusting himself off. Everyone waited for the blue hedgehog to speak, they were curious as to why he was suddenly so upbeat and running around, they hadn't seen him run like this in ages.

"I have a plan." Sonic stated as he crossed his arms and looked at each and every one of his friends that stood before him. "This is going to sound crazy, but I need you all to listen to me." After pausing a moment and realizing that no one was going to bombard him with any questions, Sonic continued speaking.

"Listen, I know that this has been hard on us, Shadow's passing, the recovery efforts, and wondering if someday another evil will strike us at any given moment and catch us off guard. It's been stressful and a huge burden to bear on all of us. However, I think I know a way we can go and find Shadow."

Tails shook his head in disbelief, "Wait a minute, wait a minute, hold on, did you say find Shadow? Sonic, he's been gone for ten years. No one has seen any signs of him, no body, no sightings, no nothing. How are we going to find someone who is most likely dead?"

Sonic sighed, knowing that these kind of questions were going to come up, but luckily for him, he had thought of this on his run back to the house. "Tails, it may seem as though he's gone, but think about it. With nothing to prove he is dead there is an equal possibility that he is alive and well somewhere. He needs us guys, just like he needed us."

"Yeah, "needed" being the key word. Have you not seen the tombstone in the ground that we were all at just a while ago?" Knuckles said sarcastically, which earned a slap from Rouge.

"Ow! What the hell was that for?!" Knuckles whined as Rouge scowled at him.

"Quit being rude! He has something to say, so we might as well listen to what it is." Rouge's words resonated out to Knuckles, who stopped his angry mumbling. After he had fallen silent everyone waited for Sonic to continue talking.

"Er...um. Thanks Rouge." Sonic said awkwardly as he tried to regain his train of thought. "Anyways, what I'm trying to say is that when we needed him the most, he was there for us, so now we need to be there for him. What I'm saying is that we can find him. It will be difficult no doubt, but I think that we could use the chaos emeralds to help us."  
"How are they going to help us?" Tails couldn't help but blurt out his question, his curiosity really got the best of him sometimes.

"Yeah, I mean, they are just sources of power aren't they?" Amy chided in, wondering how the emeralds played a role in Sonic's plan.

"The chaos emeralds hold powers that even we still don't fully understand. Shadow was the last person to have had all the emeralds in his possession. Traces of his being have been left on those emeralds so whether or not he is alive or dead, maybe these emeralds can lead us to where he is." The pieces had all clicked together, it was all making sense to everyone. Tails thought over Sonic's plan, it was simple, but it was just too risky. The cogs in his brain worked relentlessly, trying to calculate how successful of a plan this could actually be. In his mind, the probability was too low, it was a huge undertaking for something that could possibly turn out to be disappointment.

"Sonic, it is true that we don't know about these chaos emeralds but how are we going to know how to find Shadow with them? They aren't exactly compasses." Tails pointed out, dampening Sonic's spirits slightly.

"Well, we won't know if we don't try. C'mon, who is with me?" Sonic asked, trying to have his friends rally with him to once more go on a journey for the chaos emeralds.

"I'm not sure if this is something that I want to do. This search could all be in vain, and as your friend Sonic I don't want to see you devastated again." Knuckles remarked, Tails nodded his head, agreeing with the words that the crimson echidna had spoken.

"I don't think I'll be accompanying you on this one Sonic." Tails replied, he was torn because on the one hand he was so used to following the blue hero everywhere he went on his adventures and now for the first time in forever it seemed as though Sonic was going to be on his own.

"Wait! I'll go." Amy spoke up, earning questioning glances from everyone else. She walked over towards Sonic and stood beside him confidently.

"You're kidding right?" Rouge laughed dryly, as Amy frowned slightly at the bat's questioning of her decision.

"No. I'm not. Sonic is our friend, and so is Shadow. It may seem far fetched guys but think about it. The journey to end of the rainbow will either reward you or it will disappoint you if you are too late. By the look of things, we've waited much too long and time is something that we shouldn't waste. I say we do this thing, and in order to do this we all need to be on the same page." Amy clenched her hand into a fist and stuck it out in the middle of everyone, then Sonic did the same. The two smiled at one another before turning their attention to Knuckles, Tails, and Rouge.

"Guess I have no choice on this." Rouge said as she stuck her fist out beside Sonic and Amy's. Tails looked at Sonic and thought to himself about how unlikely the turnout of this journey will be. All the calculations in his head pointed to nothing but a bitter end, but against his rational and better judgement, Tails decided to go with the blue hero once more. Tails smiled, and he too placed his fist in the middle with his friends, the only one left out now was Knuckles who continued to have an irritated expression on his face.

"C'mon Knucklehead! Join the party!" Sonic teased as Knuckles rolled his eyes in pure annoyance. Knuckles really wanted to clobber Sonic for being so naive and foolish about the whole thing, but if this is what he wanted, let him make the most of it until the reality hits him in the face.  
"Fine. I'm not doing this for you though." Knuckles sighed, as Sonic cheered victoriously at the fact that he had been able to convince his friends to do this with him.  
"Let's go Sonic Heroes!" Sonic cried out as he raised his fist in the air, after realizing that no one followed suit with him, he looked at all of them strangely.

"What?" He asked, wondering why no one cheered with him.

"Please….don't ever do that again." Knuckles replied aggravated at Sonic for saying something so stupid.

"Um….okay. How about….for Shadow!"

"For Shadow!" Everyone cried out and raised their fists in the air, Sonic smiled softly as they all joined together afterwards to discuss just how they were going to find all the chaos emeralds. It was going to be a long and painful journey, but would it be worth it?

In the deep underground base of GUN, the Commander paced about his office anxiously, dreading the news he was going to have to deliver to his men today. The room was silent other than the thud of his boots against the floor and his thoughts pestering him to no end. Ten years, ten years, they had hunted for that blasted hedgehog, and still no sign of him. Shadow had always been evasive and been able to out maneuver them at every step and turn of the way. Now it seemed that his very existence had ceased, and unfortunately for him and his men, this meant that their work would be ceasing as well. After thirty years, project darkness, a project that the Commander himself had taken pride in starting would be shutting down. After countless failed tests and hitting dead end after dead end with their work, the government would finally be pulling the funding on the project. Hearing the news devastated the Commander, he thought that he could use the stepping stones of Gerald Robotnik's work when he created Shadow to benefit his men. He thought he could create soldiers who could resist any illnesses, any wounds, and even be immune to the cold and unforgiving hands of death. However, these plans were going to go up in flames as the everything that the project had been able to gather was being confiscated. The blood work they were able to obtain from Shadow when he was at the base all those years ago and the papers that yielded what little research they did have. It seemed as though the end was near for the project. He couldn't think of anything that could possible save it from going under. Suddenly, the door opened and a soldier stood in the doorway, he saluted the Commander before speaking.

"Sir, it's time for the conference." He spoke before quickly leaving, the Commander sighed and walked out the door behind him, it was going to be a long day for him.

"I just hope this goes over well." The Commander muttered to himself the door closed behind him and walked down the long metallic hallways of the GUN base.

The Commander walked inside the conference room, rows and rows of seats stretched to the back of the room, each one of them occupied by a GUN soldier and researcher who stood upon his entering and saluted him. He saluted back before reaching the podium in the front of the room, it was dimly lit inside so he couldn't really see that far back into the seating section but that was okay. He didn't really want to see the look of disappointment on his men's faces when he told them the news. He stood there with both of his hands resting on the side of the mahogany wood podium before him. He gazed out into audience who eagerly awaited what he had to say and finally began to speak.

"Men, you have all been gathered here today because a terrible news has been delivered to us, the proud men and women of GUN. We have worked hard and valiantly on the project known as project darkness, a project that I started thirty years ago with the intention to bring out the best in each and every single one of you in this room today. However, that will no longer be the case." The GUN Commander took a deep breathe as he looked out into the audience, thank God he couldn't really see all that well because of the lighting, he knew there were plenty of faces that were adorned with the look of disappointment. A look that he too had worn not too long ago when he first found out about this. It was a tragedy yes, but the show had to go on whether he and GUN liked it or not.

" After thirty years, project darkness will be shutting down, the ever increasing need of funding with nothing coming of fruition from it has caused the government to make some cuts for budget." The Commander paused yet again as he looked out towards the audience, he could see the GUN soldiers and researchers shuffling in their seats uncomfortably, the news was unsettling there was no doubt. After spending three decades on a project that continued to produce nothing but failures this may have been seen as both a blessing and a curse. A double-edged sword that one side relieved them of the burden of working tirelessly to not have anything to show for it, but on the other if something were to show up, the entire world as they knew it would forever be changed. It was a tough pill to swallow, but the Commander wouldn't let these thoughts derail what he had to say.

"Unfortunately, our project was one of many that were cut. In twenty four hours, this project will be no more. In the time that we have spent working on this I want you all to know that I am thankful for your time and dedication for the cause. All the research will be confiscated and who knows, one day we could possibly resume the search again. Until then though, I'm afraid that we will all have to put this behind us and move on to bigger and greater things. Thank you." His words resonated out into the eerie silence that hung in the room like fog. It even made the Commander uncomfortable and as he was getting ready to leave the podium area, a hand immediately shot up in the middle section of the audience.

"Permission to speak sir?" One of the soldiers asked, awaiting confirmation from his superior officer.

"Yes." The Commander replied, intrigued by what this soldier could possibly have to say.

"Sir, is there anyway to save this project?" The soldier asked, the Commander glared at him, what a ridiculous question to ask, he thought as he stood with a stoic expression on his face.

"No, there isn't. I've tried but they have to cut funding, there's no way around it." The Commander addressed as the soldier nodded his head with acceptance to the Commander's answer.

"Any other questions?" The Commander asked as his eyes scanned the many rows of the audience, within a couple moments, another hand shot up.

"Yes?" He asked irritably, he hoped it wasn't another stupid question.

" Sir, you said we still have twenty four hours?" The soldier asked as the Commander nodded his head. "Well then, sir, what about contacting the Chaotix?"

The Commander shook his head in annoyance, what was it with all these people. There's being in denial but come on, this was getting ridiculous.

"Why the Chaotix? What could those wanna-be detectives know?" The Commander asked sourly, wondering where in the world the soldier was going with this.

"Well sir, they were there aboard the ARK when the Black Arms invasion was happening, they managed to access old files of Gerald Robotnik and play one of his video logs. I bet if you needed help finding what you need to help project darkness receive the funding it needs, I bet it will be them." The soldier replied, leaving the Commander dumbfounded. Why hadn't he thought of that before? It made perfect sense, they were there aboard the ARK that day ten years ago, how they were able to do it he didn't know but they did get information that was otherwise hidden from everyone for over half a century, even GUN invasion from the ARK fifty years ago was an immense failure at retrieving the information that they so desperately needed. It had been presumed that the secrets of Gerald's work had died with the professor himself but now it seems that a light had been found at the end of the tunnel. What was once lost had finally been found again and after so many years of failure, the final pieces of the puzzle were falling into place.

"It's a possibility, as of right now though, project darkness has officially been terminated. This meeting is officially over." The GUN commander informed the soldiers and researchers, they all got up and slowly started to file out of the conference room, leaving the Commander alone in the dimly lit room with his thoughts. What that soldier said, if the Chaotix are able to uncover Gerald's research, will I be able to save project darkness? The question floated around in his mind, it was bothering him that this one little piece of information about the Chaotix could either make or break the future of GUN. He didn't want to be the one who pulled the trigger and accidentally put down his own project, but what other choice did he have? He had a goal to accomplish and the agenda of GUN was greater than any regret he could ever feel. With his mind made up, the Commander exited the conference room and headed straight back towards the office area. As he entered, a soldier was getting ready to exit, but the Commander stopped him and barked,

"Soldier, I need the number for the Chaotix's detective agency stat!"

"Sir, yes sir!" The soldier answered before taking off to obtain the information needed, the Commander placed his hands behind his back and chuckled darkly to himself.

"This went better than expected, soon I will have the information I need to finally unlock the secrets to Shadow's abilities and soon my soldiers will be the strongest beings on the face of the planet!"

Shadow walked along the corridors of the ARK, gazing out at the stars that glowed brightly just outside the windows. It had been a tough day for Shadow, the nightmares, the memories, and the ghosts of people he once knew were all haunting him down to his core. He couldn't seem to think straight anymore. The world he once left behind never seemed so good as it did right now, why he subjected himself to his own personal hell he didn't know. There was nothing up here for him except empty memories and the demons that tainted his very existence. It was something he could no longer deal with, he was no longer going to be a prisoner enslaved to his past. He wasn't going to be restrained by the shackles that held him in place in his mind. He was ready to break free, he was ready to go back to Earth and see the world that he protected so long ago. However, he had to say one final goodbye to the one person who deserved it more than anything, and that was Maria. He came to a stop in front of his room and the doors opened with a whoosh. Shadow stepped inside and sat down on the metallic cot that was his bed and rested his face in his hands. This wasn't going to be easy, but it had to be done. He had once said that he was going to put his past behind him but instead all he had done in the years since was live in it. He wasn't going to go back on his promise that he made that day, it was time to finally move on from his past and put it behind him for good.

"Maria." Shadow stated as he pulled his hands away from his face and stared at the metallic cot across from him. He imagined Maria sitting directly in front of him, listening intently to every word he said, her crystal clear blue eyes looking into his crimson ones.

"I know that you've enjoyed my company here on the ARK and I know that when you were alive on the ARK and these past years that I've been here that I've cherished the time that I have been able to spend with you. Now I feel it's time that I left this place. I know this was where I was born and where I was created, but I feel as though I serve a greater purpose. A purpose that I cannot fulfill being here." Shadow paused as he imagined Maria's facial expression looking hurt by the words he was telling her. He was crushing her heart with the words he was speaking, and it wasn't getting any easier for him to speak them.

"You have been a key figure in my life Maria, you are in my heart always along with the Professor. You have given me a love that no one else has been able to provide." Shadow found that he could no longer hold back his tears, they slowly streamed down his black fur as he imagined Maria getting up to sit next to him. He imagined her, embracing him in her arms as the tears continued to fall like a mighty rain from his eyes. He knew that if she were here, she would be crying as well, and it was knowing that she would cry that was breaking Shadow's heart.

"Maria, I love you. The ARK will forever be my home and the Professor will always be known as a brilliant man in my heart. Thank you for everything you have done for me, you will never be forgotten." Shadow closed his eyes tightly in the hopes of holding back the tears that just kept coming. His insides felt as though they had been shredded to pieces. The hole in his heart that he had once thought he had filled so many years ago when he uncovered his past had now been reopened. He felt empty inside, a feeling that he was all too familiar with. His purpose now was to move on and with saying those words that he had said to Maria, he felt like he could finally live life outside of the ARK.

He opened his eyes and found that his depiction of Maria had finally left his sight. He would miss her greatly, that was for sure. He wiped away the tears from his eyes and stood up from the cot, he now realized just what he needed to do. He was going to leave the ARK far behind, once and for all. Although he would be gone from here, he would still carry the Professor and Maria inside his heart for they have given him a strength that he once thought never existed. They gave him the strength to move on and to accept the past for what it was, it was time for him to leave, and Shadow's mind had already been made up. He was going to leave tomorrow for good, and there was nothing that was going to stop him.


	6. Chapter 5: All Signs Point To

A/N: Well here I am with yet another chapter of mine. Hopefully you all enjoy this one as much as I did writing it because this one was definitely interesting to say the least. Well I don't really have much to say so...enjoy!

Chapter 5:

All Signs Point To...

"RING! RING! RING!" The phone blared loudly as it continued to cast its deafening ring across the office space. A few seconds later, a young bumblebee bolted into the room and flew his way towards the phone.

"I got it!" The upbeat and cheerful bee cried out as he was just fingertips away from picking up the phone before a green mass tackled him from out of nowhere.

"No, I've got it Charmy!" The green mass shouted as he went to go and grab the phone, which continued to ring insistently. Charmy shook his head viciously, trying to get rid of the stars that clouded his vision and realized it was Vector the crocodile that had steamrolled him just seconds ago.

"Vector, I wanna answer it!" Charmy whined as he pestered the crocodile by flying around him in circles. Vector tried to swat Charmy out of the way but it was no use, he was too quick for him.

"Will you knock it off?!" Vector said as he felt his signature headphones that were worn around his neck get taken off. Vector turned his back from the phone and saw Charmy on the other side of the office by the filing cabinets sticking his tongue out at him, headphones in hand.

"Na, na, na na na! You can't catch me!" Charmy teased as Vector rushed towards him, seeing nothing but the color red.

"Why you little!" Vector yelled as Charmy flew out of the way in the nick of time, Vector crashed into the side of one of the filing cabinets, leaving a massive dent in it. Charmy giggled childishly as Vector quickly got to his feet once more and this time succeeded in dropping Charmy to the floor in the midst of his laughter. Charmy tried to escape as the two rolled across the floor in an epic battle of ownership of Vector's headphones. In the meantime, the phone was still ringing and in the midst of their immature fighting, a purple chameleon had entered the room.

"Is no one going to answer the phone?" He asked Charmy and Vector, who were too caught up in their own "issues" to answer his question.

"I guess Espio has to do everything." He muttered to himself as he picked up the phone, tuning out Vector and Charmy in the background.

"Hello, Team Chaotix agency, it's never too late for us to be on the case. How can we help you?" Espio asked monotonously, he hated being answering the phone, he wasn't exactly a "social butterfly".

"Ah, Team Chaotix, I require your services as it pertains to the fate of top secret GUN plans." The man's voice on the other end seemed rather on edge, like he was stressed to his limits. Nonetheless, Espio was indeed intrigued.

"Okay, what's the case exactly?" Espio pried, trying to obtain more information about this client's case. Espio looked over at Vector who had managed to get his headphones back and was in the middle of scolding Charmy who looked as though he were on the brink of tears. Great, we're going to need to get a new cabinet too, Espio sarcastically noted as he glanced at the dented filing cabinet that Vector had collided with earlier.

"My case? Right, well I am the Commander of GUN, I am in need of obtaining information from the ARK's mainframe. I know you guys were able to a long time ago, but now I need you to do it again." Espio nodded his head, as he grabbed a notebook and pen lying on the desk nearby and began jotting down notes about the case. That's strange, the commander of GUN asking for help? This must be serious, Espio thought as he finished writing some key points.

"I'm sure we can do that, but may I ask why exactly you need us to access this information?" The line went silent, and for a moment Espio thought that he might have hung up or lost connection, but just before Espio was about to hang up he heard the commander speak.

"It's top secret, I can't exactly share it with you on the phone, but what I can tell you is that it is extremely important. I have been given permission by the President of the United States to obtain this information within the next 72 hours to pitch to him and board of officials. If I can get what I need from the ARK's mainframe, everything can change for the better. You just have to believe me, I'm willing to pay any price." The Commander spoke, his words sounding too good to be true for Espio. Something about this seemed suspicious, at the same time though, maybe the Commander was just hyping it up when really it was a bunch of dull government work. Either way, Espio wanted to get to the bottom of it, he turned one last time to look at Vector and Charmy, who were still talking things out and apologizing before answering the Commander.

"We accept your case. When do we start?"

"Come by later this afternoon at three, and we can talk about things further. Here's the address of where we will meet and I can take you to the base." The Commander then proceeded to give the address and Espio quickly wrote it down.

"Thanks Commander." Espio said as he glanced down at the notepad, making sure he had written everything down correctly.

"Have a nice day." Were the Commander's last words before the line went dead. Espio grabbed his notepad and placed the phone back down on the desk.

"Hey guys?!" Espio called out, Vector turned to face Espio as Charmy flew towards him.

"What's going on?" Charmy questioned as he hovered over Espio's shoulder trying to catch a glimpse of what was written on the notepad.

"Yeah, who was that on the phone? I would've answered it has someone not got in the way!" Vector said sourly as he glared at Charmy, who looked hurt by the fact that Vector was once more blaming him for getting in the way of things.

"It wasn't my fault! I was going to answer but you hurt me for no reason!" Charmy complained as Vector crossed his arms.

"Guys…" Espio tried to interrupt, but to no avail.

"I beg to differ."

"Guys…" Espio attempted to yet again interrupt their childish bickering, but his words fell upon deaf ears.

"You're a meanie." Charmy said, trying his best to insult the crocodile who just chuckled to himself.

"You keep thinking that."

"GUYS!" Espio yelled, not being able to take their arguing anymore, suddenly the two stopped to face the purple chameleon who looked like at any second he might explode if he didn't say what he had to say.

"WHAT?!" Vector and Charmy responded, hating the fact that he was so insistent on interrupting them.

"In response to your question earlier Vector, that was the Commander of GUN, he is in need of our assistance."

"What could he possibly need our help with?" Vector replied, wondering how someone who had as much power as him could need help with anything.

"Yeah! What does he need help with?" Charmy chided in, as Espio mentally facepalmed himself, these guys really are hard to deal with sometimes.

"He was very vague about it. He said that everything could change for the better if we helped him, whatever that means. He said that he would pay us any price if we could help him obtain some information from the ARK which he needs to get within the next 72 hours to pitch a project to the President and a board of officials. I told him that we would accept it." Espio informed the two, a shocked expression forming on the crocodile's face.

"You told him that we would accept a case without asking us first?!" Vector blurted out, upset that Espio hadn't asked him if he wanted to go on this case.

"Yeah! Why?" Charmy cried out, being a parrot as always. Espio just sighed, as he looked at the two who waited for his response.

"Quit being so overdramatic. I told him we would accept the case because if he is going to pay us any cost I know you'll be all for it just for the money." At the mention of money, Vector immediately saw dollar bill signs flash before his eyes, he could see it now, him swimming in a sea of money. It would be a dream come true for the crocodile, who smiled wide at the thought.

"You're right. I'm in!" Vector said as he rubbed his hands greedily, he couldn't wait to get his hands on all that money.

"So am I!" Charmy answered as he hovered around the room excitedly.

"Glad we are all on the same page now, let's head out to go and meet the Commander." Espio offered as he headed out of the office, Vector and Charmy followed behind and soon the group began to wander the streets of Westopolis in search of the Commander.

"Where in the world is this Melancholy Street? We've been wandering around this city for like two hours, and it's almost three!" Vector complained as he scratched his head in perplexion, Charmy was getting impatient as well.

"We're gonna be late!" Charmy cried out as he buzzed around Espio and Vector who had now come to a stop along the busy sidewalk.

"We're not going to be late, now let's get out of everyone's way before we tick someone off." Espio motioned for them to sit at a bench in front of a bus stop for the time being to discuss where to go. The city was bustling with all sorts of life and the sun was out, people were looking to enjoy the day, but not the Chaotix. They had a case to solve and they were determined to meet their employer, the Commander of GUN. Espio snatched the notepad from Vector who had taken it earlier from him to navigate the way. The purple chameleon's eyes scanned the sheet of paper and had deduced that once again, Vector was being an idiot.

"Vector, you do realize this says Melachony Street, right?" Espio asked the crocodile, who responded with a facepalm and sigh. "It's okay, I'll search up the address on my phone." With that Espio proceeded to pull out his cell phone and GPS the address, as Vector had now lost all navigation privileges.

"Vector's a moron, Vector's a moron!" Charmy taunted, causing Vector to place his hand over the annoying bumblebee's mouth to stifle his jeering. Charmy tried to remove Vector's hand but the crocodile was too strong for him. The people next to them on the bench kept giving the Chaotix weird glances, Charmy's muffled cries eventually became too much for one of the bystanders.

"Will you guys be quiet?!" A man shouted causing Vector to shush him immediately.

"We're trying to solve a case here! Don't interrupt the greatest detectives in the world while they are hard at work." The man backed down and fell silent as Espio finished searching the address on his phone.

"C'mon, let's go!" Espio took off in a rush leaving Vector and Charmy to scramble up to him and match his pace.

"Wait!" Charmy exclaimed as his tiny little frame flew with all its might to catch up to Espio, weaving in and out of people's way as they walked along the sidewalk. Vector tried doing the same thing but his massive frame prevented him from being as maneuverable as Charmy. He was constantly running into people knocking them down like a giant green wrecking ball.

"Outta the way! Detectives comin' through!" Vector shouted as he shoved people aside in the hopes that he would eventually catch up to Charmy and Espio. People cried out in anger and shouted nasty comments at them as they made their way through the mid day bustle of the city. Vector caught sight of Espio turning onto another street with Charmy close behind, he took a hard right, almost losing his balance and running into traffic and proceeded to continue to chase his fellow detectives. After another five minutes of relentless pursuing, Espio finally came to a stop. Unfortunately for him, Charmy and Vector had gained too much momentum from them chasing him that they all collided and fell on top of one another in a dog pile. Espio grunted in pain as Charmy and Vector rested on top of them. Espio thought he was going to cough up his lungs with the amount of weight that was pushing down on him. Somehow, he was able to wiggle himself out and brushed himself off while the Vector and Charmy recovered from their collision.

"That was fun!" Charmy declared as he shook the pain off and got out from underneath Vector who shortly after got back up to his feet.

"Let's try not to do that again." Vector insisted as Espio pointed to the building in front of them, it was a retro looking coffee shop with a turquoise exterior and a giant glass window display in the front, however that wasn't what Espio was referring to. Standing in front of the coffee shop, was a man with steel grey hair, his one ghost blue and one caramel brown eye were both locked on them intently, studying them. Team Chaotix quickly stood together and watched as the Commander made his way towards them.

"How professional." The Commander said sarcastically as the Chaotix felt embarrassed at their actions in front of a high ranking official.

"Sorry about that, we were kind of in a rush to meet you here and we ended up getting separated." Vector explained as the Commander stared at them with a stoic face.

"That doesn't matter, what matters is that you made it here. Now I'm going to escort you out of here and we can discuss things further at the base." The Commander then waved out a small squad of four GUN soldiers who were hiding in the bushes nearby. The soldiers had already put their weapons away as they realized that there was no imminent threat from the detectives.

"Um...why the soldiers?" Charmy asked as he trembled at the sight of the intimidating GUN forces. The Commander faintly smiled at Charmy's terror, who clung onto Vector's arm for dear life.

"I never go alone." He said in a wry tone before motioning for them to head out with them to the armored GUN vehicle parked up the street. They got in and within moments they were off towards GUN's base, ready to find out just what case they were about to embark on.

Vector, Charmy, and Espio all filed into the office behind the Commander and his squadron of GUN soldiers. They stood in front of his desk as he placed himself in his seat and waited for one of his soldiers to close the door. The GUN soldiers stood like statues on one side of the room against the wall, watching the Commander and Chaotix in case anything happened. It was silent for a moment as the Commander shifted in his seat and rested his arms on the desk.

"This mission I need you to do is classified, no one can know outside of this room what is about to transpire. Do I make myself clear?" The Chaotix nodded their heads in understanding, they knew that this was highly important and they couldn't wait to be on the case right after this briefing. "Good, now I'll start with this. Do you remember ten years ago, when you were aboard the ARK?" The Commander asked as Espio cleared his throat.

"Yes, I remember that day. We were aboard the ARK and we managed to uncover some old files of Gerald Robotnik, it was what helped Shadow save the Earth." Espio glanced down in remembrance, it had been a heroic triumph on Shadow's behalf to sacrifice himself to save the planet. It was just a shame that he had to pass, Espio thought before returning his gaze to the Commander.

"Well I need all three of you to do it again. The information that you will find can possibly change the fate of Project Darkness." The Chaotix gave confused looks at the Commander, unsure of what he was talking about, but it was Vector who spoke up first.

"Just out of curiosity, what is Project Darkness?"

"Ah, yes. I probably should've explained this to you." The Commander started off, gaining the interest of the detectives that stood before him. "Sixty years ago, Gerald Robotnik created Shadow the Hedgehog as a means of inventing a cure for his granddaughter Maria who suffered from an incurable illness. GUN saw a potential in Shadow, we were planning on using the same healing qualities that Shadow possessed into our soldiers so that they would be immune to the horrors of combat and war. However, that all changed when Gerald refused to work with us, he said that wouldn't allow anyone to meddle with his research, so, we planned on taking it for ourselves." The Commander paused as the Chaotix realized where this was going, this was the dark twist in the story, where things took a turn for the worst.

"GUN went aboard the ARK and made a proposition for Gerald, either he gave us the research or he gave up his life for his work. In the end, he was killed and it seemed as though that whatever research he had been working on had died with him."

"I'm guessing that's where we come in?" Espio questioned as Charmy flew around excitedly.

"Yeah where do we come in?!" Vector shushed the bumblebee and scolded him.

"Shush, that's being disrespectful! Let the man talk!"

"Well how come Espio can ask a question but I can't?" Charmy whined as the Commander placed his face in his hands in frustration. He could feel a migraine just waiting in the wings to come up and drown him in pain. He kind of wished that the pain would be bestowed upon him at any moment so he wouldn't have to deal with the self-proclaimed "greatest detectives".

"Charmy you're being redundant!"

"Well I'm just asking!"

"SILENCE!" The commander bellowed as he managed to restore order within his office. The trio stood in silent fear as the Commander shifted once more in his seat before answering Espio's question.

"Not yet, we managed to capture Shadow when he crash landed to Earth but he was in critical condition, we were able to fix him and obtain some blood sample from him but then that crazy Dr. Eggman infiltrated our base and freed him. In recent years however, I have started Project Darkness, a project that I started to help benefit our soldiers. We tried to run tests with Shadow's blood and see what properties it's made of, but all of our tests have failed. This is where you come in. GUN needs your help to find out what you can about Project Shadow from sixty years ago. Uncover what you can and report back to me within the next twelve hours." The Commander got up and stared at each of the Chaotix bringing his point home that this was important and that the fate of this project rested in their hands.

"Twelve hours? That's not a lot of time!" Vector said, astonished at the short time limit that the Commander threw upon them.

"Vector's right. This is an important mission, if we are going to retrieve data we need to take all the time we can to find it." Espio stated firmly as the Commander's brow furrowed in slight anger.

"Twelve hours and that's an order. Understood?" The Commander replied coldly as the Chaotix figured out that they had no choice but to obey.

"Yes sir." Vector and Charmy sighed as Espio nodded his head.

"Roger."

"Great, your time starts now." The Commander handed them a manilla envelope containing contents of the research GUN had already managed to gather and with that the Chaotix were dismissed from the Commander's office, ready to start their mission.

A/N: Sorry if this chapter seemed all filler but I just had too many ideas floating around for just one chapter so I had to kind of separate it out. I divided it up into two chapters, this one and the next one so the next chapter I put out is going to be dropping bombshells on this story so stay tuned!


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